The Best of Friends
by Pooch
Summary: Rinoa's secret leads to a whole new level in her and Squall's relationship.


Disclaimer: Anything Final Fantasy belongs to Square Soft.  
  
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Ever since the defeat of Ultimecia, Squall and Rinoa had grown closer and closer, but only as friends. But, the best of friends. Both knew there was nothing they couldn't tell the other and they were completely comfortable and could be themselves around each other. They could practically read each other's minds, and frequently they completed each other's sentences, if they didn't say it at the same exact time. They could spend hours alone just talking about everything.  
  
Rinoa had a secret, one she'd never told anyone before. One that she'd repressed deep down into the depths of her heart and soul. She rarely thought about it, but it had been egging at her lately. The memories pushing their way back into her mind. She'd cry herself to sleep at night, remembering. She vowed to never tell anyone, it would ruin her. But one night, she cracked.  
  
She was crying in her room and couldn't get to sleep. She had to tell someone, it was eating her away inside. She picked up the phone and dialed the number most familiar to her. Squall.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Squall, it's me. I need you with me. Come over, we'll go for a walk."  
  
Squall sensed the distress and the tears in her voice. He became extremely concerned. He felt a pain in his heart, for whenever she felt pain, he felt it too. "Rinoa, what's wrong?"  
  
"Just come over, I'll tell you then." She hung up. Squall changed quickly out of his pajamas and threw on a pair of jeans and a gray t-shirt. He drove quickly to Rinoa's.  
  
  
  
Rinoa pushed her tissues aside when she heard a light knock on the door. She swung it open and fell into Squall's arms, sobbing. Squall just held her, stroking her hair. After a while, he pulled away slightly and looked into her eyes. "Tell me what's wrong."  
  
"Let's go to the beach."  
  
They walked silently, her weak hand entwined with his strong one, her pain flowing into him and his love comforting her. She had stopped crying.  
  
They reached the beach after about 10 minutes and they sat in the sand where the water wouldn't reach them. Rinoa snuggled against him and Squall wrapped an arm around her.  
  
After about five minutes of silence, Rinoa spoke. "I have this uncle. He's very religious, to a certain degree. He's a priest at a local church in his town. I always used to like him, he was always really nice to me and he was fun. When I was about 7 or 8, he asked me to go in the church basement with him to get some supplies. It was dark... He...touched me and forced me to touch him..."  
  
"Oh God, Rinoa..." Squall was speechless. There wasn't really anything to say.  
  
"That's... that's not all." Rinoa put her fingers to her temples.  
  
"He did more?"  
  
"No... someone else did."  
  
"...Someone else?"  
  
"Yes. When I was 8, my father knew this guy named Michael from the army and they used to go out a lot and my father would always go on and on about how much fun Michael was and how they had such a great time together and I got jealous. I didn't know any better so I told Michael that I wanted him to take me out."  
  
Squall held Rinoa tighter as she shuddered.  
  
"Michael was my first kiss. He was a lot of my firsts..."  
  
"How...much did you do with him?"  
  
"I lost my virginity to Seifer, that's it." Squall knew about Seifer and Rinoa last summer. He had been her first, and they had both orally pleasured each other, along with other stuff, of course.  
  
"Oh my God... was this a one time thing?"  
  
"No... it went on until I was fourteen. He would take me in his car on long car rides; he'd have porn under the front seat of his car and in the glove compartment. He wouldn't let me go home unless I... gave him a blowjob. 'Not in the mood? Maybe this story will help...' God, I convinced myself I was in love with him, even though every time I came I dreaded going with him. I convinced myself I wanted to do it."  
  
"How did you finally end it?"  
  
"We almost got caught... We were in his car and I was completely naked. A car drove by and saw us and called the cops. We put my clothes on quickly and got rid of everything: the porn under the front seat, the porn in the glove compartment, the pictures of me naked, the pictures of us, the things he had written down... everything. We burned it.  
  
"We made up a story for when the police came to my house. I told the police I had been changing in his car and that it was nothing. I got away with it and they left. Michael gave me a journal of poems he wrote about me. It said things about him watching me changing through my window; he had my room described perfectly. He was stalking me, Squall. That's when I decided I hated him. I hate him so much. He took my childhood, he ruined my innoc - "  
  
Rinoa burst into tears. Squall had already been crying by this point. The only thing he could say was "Oh my God," over and over again. He held her tight and they cried together.  
  
Squall never would have thought something like that had happened to her. She always seemed so happy. It seemed to him that the really horrible things in life, the shit that you usually only hear about on the news, see in movies, read in books, could never happen to someone you know. If it did, it was only to the best of people, those who only deserve the best. Squall instantly developed a strong hate for Michael. He felt so much pain, the pain Rinoa felt. It was incredible, he never thought pain like that existed. His poor Rinoa...  
  
She looked up at him, and he stared into her eyes, and the love flowed between them. In that very moment he knew that she was the only one for her, and she for him. He could see in her eyes that she felt the same way. They both discovered that their love and their friendship was meant to be something so much more. Squall held her face with his hand and kissed her forehead. She smiled weakly up at him.  
  
"I love you, so much. I'll always be there for you, you never have to worry about being hurt again. I'll protect you best I can from the evils of this world. Rinoa, you deserve nothing but the best and I'm going to do best I can to give you just that. You make me so happy." He laughed weakly, still crying. He'd never felt such an attachment to someone, and something told him that their relationship would never cause him pain.  
  
Rinoa pulled him down to him and kissed him deeply. "Squall.... never leave me."  
  
And he never did. 


End file.
